I think in all the huppla going on, we as a group are forgetting and missing some significant points.

Its the 2nd Amendment, not the third, 4th or the tenth. The founders found it important enough that it was the Second only to freedom of speech, assembly, freedom of the press (the Pen is mightier than the sword)

I firmly believe that (be it right or wrong for modern times) that the 2nd has two elements to it.
1. The inherent right to own arms
2. A civic duty to be prepared to exercise the duty to combat tyranny via a local militia (not to be taken lightly, but the basis of the US as a country was revolution ). Inherent in in the 2nd is also supporting the US in time of crisis and the AR is the modern equivalent of the musket.
As times have changed the interpretation of the Amendment has been ruled on (wrongly at times but ruled never the less). Freedom of the press means blogs now in electronic form not printed media. Wire taps require a search warrant the same as a house would have in the 1700s.
The AR is not evil, it is the gun of choice of the US armed forces and it would be the gun we would need to be familiar with to fulfill that duty.

Read the book, "Living With Guns". You may not like all you read, but it is overall well balanced and a very good basis of discussion.

Do not take the view that there is no discussion. The Constitution does allow amendments and ultimately the nation may choose to change the constitution whether we like it or not. If you are going to maintain the 2nd Amendment right, then it needs to be persuasive conversation, not coercive. All right have limits and we are in the throes of a serious one on the 2nd.

Your fellow citizens do have a FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT that needs to be respected. They are fellow citizens, not the enemy.